This year's Science Festival at the Botanics, from Saturday 29 March to Friday 4 April, tackles the big questions of climate change and sustainability with a programme of fun, informative events designed for the whole family.
The Garden will play host to over 25 organisations exploring how these issues affect us and the planet. In Real Life Science events, experts from RBGE and other organisations will explain how their work is contributing to our understanding of climate change and sustainability.
Among them, RBGE volunteer Christine Thomson shows how monitoring plants through the year can provide evidence of climate change and Dr Rene van der Wal (University of Aberdeen) explains how puffins in the Forth are being threatened by an invasive Mediterranean plant.
For youngsters, Hands-on Fun is a week-long programme of events and activities with a strong emphasis on getting your hands dirty. Drop-in sessions run throughout the day alongside timetabled talks, tours and storytelling.
The Talk Mini-Series features three evening talks by visiting speakers. On 1 April, Professor David Beerling (University of Sheffield) will explore how plants have moulded our climate through time and on 3 April, Dr Marek Kukula (University of Edinburgh) considers how cosmic events have shaped life on Earth.
Donald Canavan (Hurdrolland Partnership) and Richard Atkins (Scottish Ecological Design Association) close the Festival on 4 April with a look at green buildings.
For a full listing of Science Festival events, see the dedicated Science Festival page.